Metastrongylosis is a
parasitic disease that affects
wild boars and
pigs which live outdoors.[1] It is caused by various species of roundworms of the genus Metastrongylus.[2] A handful of cases of metastrongylosis have been reported in humans.[3]
Metastrongylus species have a life cycle which involves
earthworms as an intermediate host.[4] Pigs root for
earthworms in
soil, and ingest the Metastrongylus larvae which are infesting the earthworms.[2] The larvae migrate to the lungs, and cause the pig to cough and have difficulty breathing.[4]
References
^García-González, Ángela María; Pérez-Martín, Juan Enrique; Gamito-Santos, José Antonio; Calero-Bernal, Rafael; Alonso, María Alcaide; Carrión, Eva María Frontera (January 2013). "Epidemiologic study of lung parasites (Metastrongylus spp.) in wild boar (Sus scrofa) in southwestern Spain". Journal of Wildlife Diseases. 49 (1): 157–162.
doi:
10.7589/2011-07-217.
PMID23307382.
S2CID38998791.